Rating: 
Summary: Not Designed With Me In Mind
Review: So, first, let me get this out of the way: These speakers sound great. The bass is powerful and punchy while the small and very attractive speakers deliver a crisp high end. Mid-range does suffer a bit in larger spaces, but probably only to the very discerning listener. I replaced my clunky Yamaha YST-MS50 system with this one and, as far as the sound goes, I find the 2100's to be very comparable.OK, so why give it 2 stars? Well, it has everything to do with the design of these things. Altec Lansing has successfully taken a potentially great product and ruined it with terrible controls. The remote, in my opinion, is completely useless. It features a power button and two volume buttons. Now, assuming you have the speakers plugged into the same outlet strip as your computer, most users will shut the speaker system down with the computer system. This makes sense to me. The problem is that whenever you bring power back to the system, you must manually turn on the power button on the remote and re-adjust the volume to a normal level. The default for this system is for it to be OFF and at VERY low volume. The only workaround to this is to keep the speakers powered on all the time. But this, to me, makes very little sense. When I turn my computer on, I expect to hear sound. Well, you don't with the 2100's. My second gripe has to do with the fact that this system has no headphone jack. This is a major inconvenience when using the computer late at night. My third gripe has to do with the fact that you have no idea what volume you are listening to. The remote, as I said, features two volume buttons but with no visual display telling you where you are at. This just goes against my natural tendency to want to know what volume I am listening to relative to the system's capabilities. My last gripe has to do with the design of the speakers. I have no complaint with the subwoofer as it is very slim, compact, and well protected. However, the satellites have fully exposed speaker cones that are barely protected by only a thin vertical strip of metal. I had to move these speakers well above ear-level in order to keep them away from the stray hands of my young child. So, overall, the system is great sounding, attractive, and completely user-unfriendly. Just not enough, in my opinion.....
Rating: 
Summary: Great 4 all music, movies, & gaming needs. Especially w/ PS2
Review: Bought this system and hooked it up with my playstation2. Altec included a special cable to easily hook up both ps2 audio jacks into the satillites, while keeping your video jack in the tv. A lot of systems do not provide these cables, so this was a nice extra. Setup is easy. There is plenty of cord for a lot of reach. Slim design fits anywhere and looks PERFECT with the ps2 system, or anything in need of a modern look. Altec's sound is superb compared to your average tv. You paid $(...) for a gaming system, you might as well take advantage of its high quality sound capability. These speakers are a start. This system boosts a nice bass sound, while maintaining top quality and clarity. As previously posted, the midrange could use more boost. You can adjust the subwoofer, but unfortunately there is no other knobs to refine the sound to your taste. It's because of this that the system misses a perfect score. Overall, altec did a wonderful job with the sleek, lightweight design. Best sound for your dollar. Top quality. Buy these speakers!
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT SPEAKERS
Review: These speakers work amazingly if you know a fair amount about a computer if you are to use them with a computer. Get the newest drivers for your computer, use windows media player (or any player with an equalizer). Have your system volume level all the way up, and control the sound with the remote included with the speakers. Turn the treble way up, and you can decide how you like the bass, whether loud and deep, or low and quieter. Make sure you put the subwoofer in a place next to a wall, corner, or any solid object to help reflect the sound back towards you. Xbox utilizes these speakers quite effectively also.
Rating: 
Summary: good for almost everything.
Review: I bought these speakers with the intent of creating my own little home entertainment center for music (primarily) and for movies. When I heard them at the store (costco) they sounded great except for a little distortion I thought was due to the MP3 player. AFter taking them home and putting them through my rigorous testing process I found that they work great with Earth, Wind and Fire, and reproducing a great acoustic jazz bass sound (I'm a bass player). They sounded great with most all of my jazz CD's except Bill Evans (the piano sounded funny) and Branford Marsalis (the mix between the drums and bass was a little muddy). Then there was the classical test. My wife plays violin, and is also pretty particular about sound. It failed in reproducing a good sound with bowed bass (Edgar Meyer) and exposed mixing flaws in orchestras. Perhaps the worst part was the distortion that occured at low volumes particularly in choral music. So, if you like rock music, these are the speakers for you (if you care about hearing yourself talk). If you like jazz, you might want something better, and if you like classical or choral music, pick something else.
Rating:
Summary: Some odd engineering
Review: I bought my speakers for $29.95 after rebate, and at that price they blow everything similar away. They sound nice, although sometimes I get the feeling I'm listening to two systems at the same time--one with limited bass, the other a subwoofer--while at other times, on different music, it sounds okay. Hard to imagine that the little drivers extend downward to where the subwoofers roll off. The small satellite speakers look nice, but there's no rearward extension of the foot, so I've knocked mine over many times. Also, with a slightly different design, they could have accommodated 1.5" microdrivers, with 2.25 times as much piston area, and within the same footprint. I doubt manufacturing cost would have changed much, but midbass performance would have been greatly enhanced. Makes one wonder.
Rating:
Summary: Solid sound, priced right
Review: I got more than what I expected with these wonderful speakers after returning a less expensive set that didn't meet my expectation. Great sound and good dynamic range make this set worth the extra expense.
Rating:
Summary: Good Speakers with Limitations
Review: These are excellent computer speakers for the money. Many of the reviews that talk about bad midtones are, for the most part, true. With standard settings, the speakers do sound flat and leave much to be desired. However, with the use of a program with an equilizer, they can be adjusted to sound very, very good. I am using the Windows Media Player, with equilizer, and have them sounding great now. I had to give up my MusicMatch Jukebox for lack of adequate adjustments. These are very small speakers and will not "fill" up a large room or project all ranges over a large distance. Therefore, I am not sure why they have a double subwoofer - it seems like overkill. However, within shorter distances (20-30 Feet) these speakers can really be adjusted to provide great quality sounds. For general computer speakers, I would rate this as excellent in both (adjusted) sound quality and size. For a home entertainment system, I would look for much higher end speakers. With a little bit of tweaking, I am now very pleased and have a sleek set of speakers that can pack a surprising punch.
Rating:
Summary: Took Some Tinkering but Worth it....
Review: My 4 yr. old Cabridge Soundworks went kaput in the middle of a video project, so i got the 2100 as there were no other high end speakers available in my immediate area (got them from Target of all places..). Many reviews criticize its midrange capabilites, and they do have a point: there's a slight thinness compared to my Cambridge. BUT, I found a culprit in my Windows Media Player software which emphasizes this thinness and hallower sound when it is set to playback audio DIGITALLY (under Options menu), which is its default setting. After tinkering with the EQ forever, i found out about the default, switched it to analog and now the sound is MUCH MUCH fuller (OK COMPUTER is my reference cd), and NO there is not a noticeable degradation in sound (your regular boombox plays this way after all). PC speakers tend to play to the high end so using the digital setting just exacerbates their weakness being lack of a full midrange. So NOW i definitely have to say I am impressed. I am picking up sounds I missed from my Cambridge, it plays loud and clear and the sub is WAY better and is never boomy. Can you get a much better sound from other speakers? yes, but probably not at this price (for 2.1's). It will take time to love these as my Cambridge's were with me for so long and kicked ..., but I highly recommend the 2100, just test the software you use for playback to make sure your getting the most out of it.
Rating:
Summary: Look cool. Sound great.
Review: I can't understand why reviewers here haven't consistently rated these speakers at 5 stars. I have these speakers in my office and they sound truly incredible. Maybe it has something to do with room acoustics? I also have Monsoon MH500s at home. These sound much worse, both in terms of imaging and the level of distortion at higher volume levels. Given that they both cost about the same, I would go with the Altec Lansing.
Rating:
Summary: Would of gave it a 2 1/2 stars...
Review: I spent 100bucks and gave it a try after a hour of listening
as i was listening it felt as though something was missing
in the treble. I don't know what but it felt strange. Well,
I returned this and got a Monsoon PlanarAudio 14.
No comparison, hands down Monsoon out performed Altec.
Its bass were too muffled compared to Monsoon and the highs
were harsh, while Monsoon had a round warm sound.
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